The Board of Education voted Tuesday to use the four days of April vacation as replacement days for days missed as result of snow.
The administration argued that it might be necessary to use February vacation to prevent disruption of learning and preparation for standardized tests, but that absences and students and teacher might make it impractical to keep the schools functioning properly. Board members voted to only utilize April vacation days, and the days set aside at the end of the school year for makeup days.
13 comments:
And where do the other 4 days (so far) get made up?
don't complain when the test score show the result of your decision.
what do you expect them to do? They have to make up the days....
Typical decision. Vacation time is more important than our children's education. And they wonder why our test scores are horrible.
They can add 6 days to the end of the school year and then move into the April vacation. That means Monday and Tuesday are gone in April. They plan on following the calendar and the make up schedule.
The other four days are being added on at the end of the school year. The last day would be June 21st for all schools, except Woodrow Wilson, who will go until June
22nd.
I don't see what people are complaining about. The board made a good decision here. They actually stood up for quality education. It would have been a loss to have students attend school (at great cost to an already overextended district) to receive low quality instruction from subs.
If schools aren't teaching to the test and the curriculum actually leads students to the skills needed to score well on the state assessments there is little worry about the lost instructional time because it will be made up.
The Board of Ed did exactly what they should have. Those parent's that wanted February vacation used were just looking for a free babysitter. With the amount of people that would have been out, there would have been no quality of education.
If you watched the meeting, Barbara Senges provided overwheming analysis that cancelling vaca last minute would not be a good decision...until I heard this info I wasn't even sure what the answer was. Inform yourselves people before judging. It was a good decision.
While I can understand the thought behind canceling last minute being a bad decision, I think the Board should put education first before any vacation. Unfortunately, so much weighs on the mastery tests in March, so the smart thing to have done for our childrens education would have been to make up the days before that testing and not after. While I do not agree with the mastery testing, it is the sad truth that A LOT rides on it and the Board knows that. I think vacation time should have been taken away but I think the Board made a poor decision in going with April.
These kids have not had a chance to prepare themselves for the CMTs bc of all these days....then there going to have a week off and then CMTs thrown at them...one year our test scores were badat our school... what r u going to do when these scores come back the same....Feb should have been taking away just for the fact of the CMTs now the kids will be going 4months straight no break...thats not far on the to the kids or teachers and then to have there summer shortend...just saying
To first Anonymous- It is way too late to take away February vacation. Most teachers and administrators already have travel and vacation plans. Not to mention how few kids would show up anyways because of all of their vacation plans. Yes, the CMTs are soon, but shouldn't they have been doing work to practice for them all along? At least using April vacation, gives everyone, staff and students' families alike, time to change their plans. The other days would still be made up in June, but hopefully not too many more. June is a waste of time educationally. It is so hot hot and humid in the classrooms, nobody wants to do anything.
This issue should have been addressed sooner. Could the BOE held an emergency meeting last week? As I listened to the projected staff absences I found it hard to believe that there were that many people with nonrefundable vactions. Isn't the tourism industry at a low because of the economy? How many staff actually have vactions planned and how many were simply annoyed at be asked to work through a normally scheduled vacation? I also did not understand how Barbara came up with the numbers. She used Bielefield as an example for the normal. She said on an average day there were 7 teachers out. Aren't there only 19 classes at Bielefield? That would mean on an average day 1/3 of the teachers are out? I was lost after that. Maybe someone can help me understand.
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